BBCIn China, people follow the US election with great interest and some anxiety. They fear what will happen next at home and abroad, whoever wins the White House.
“None of us want to see a fight,” said Mr Xiang, as the music in the park reached its peak and a nearby dancer expertly spun her partner.
She came to Ritan Park to learn dance with other seniors.
They meet here regularly, just a few hundred meters from the home of the US ambassador to China in Beijing.
In addition to new dances, the upcoming US election is on their minds.
It comes at a crucial time between the two superpowers, where tensions over Taiwan, trade and international affairs are heating up.
“I’m worried that Sino-US relations are unstable,” said Mr. Xiang, who is in his sixties. Peace is what we want, he adds.
A crowd has gathered to listen to this conversation. Most are reluctant to reveal their full names in a country where it is legal to talk about the American president, but criticizing their leader can get them into trouble.
They say they are worried about war – not just the conflict between Washington and Beijing but the escalation of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
That is why Mr Meng, who is in his 70s, hopes that Donald Trump will win the election.
“Although he imposes economic sanctions on China, he does not wish to start or fight a war. Mr. Biden starts so many wars that ordinary people don’t like him. It is Mr. Biden who supports the war in Ukraine and Russia and Ukraine are losing a lot of the war,” he said.
The other sisters filmed the dance routine on their social media page. “Donald Trump said in an interview that he would end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after taking office,” said another.
“As for Harris, I don’t know him that well, we think he’s following the same path as President Biden who supports the war.”
Their views are consistent with the important message being disseminated in the Chinese state media.
China has called on the international community to negotiate an end to the fighting in Gaza while siding with what it describes as its “Arab brothers” in the Middle East and has quickly accused the US of its unrelenting support for Israel.
In Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations that China was playing a “constructive role” as he accused Washington of “exploiting the situation for selfish gain”.
Although many analysts believe that Beijing has no favorite in this race for the White House, many would agree that Kamala Harris is an unknown quantity to the Chinese people and the country’s leaders.
But some believe that he will be more stable than Trump when it comes to the largest area between the US and China – Taiwan.
“I don’t like Trump. I don’t think there is a good future between the US and China – there are too many problems, the global economy, and the Taiwan problem,” said the father of a four-year-old child in the family park. day out.
He fears that their differences over Taiwan could eventually lead to conflict.
“I don’t want it. I don’t want my son to go to war,” he says as the little boy pleads for him to return to the slide.
China claims the sovereign island of Taiwan as its own and President Xi has said “reunification is inevitable”, vowing to take it by force if necessary.
The US maintains formal relations with Beijing and sees it as the only Chinese government under the “One China policy” but remains Taiwan’s most important international supporter.
Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with self-defense weapons and Joe Biden has said the US will defend Taiwan militarily, breaking what is known as strategic ambiguity.
Harris didn’t go that far. Instead, when asked in a recent interview, he said “dedication to the security and prosperity of all nations.”
Donald Trump is instead focused on agreement – not diplomacy. He asked Taiwan to pay for its protection.
“Taiwan took away our chip business. I mean how stupid are we? They are very rich,” he said in a recent interview. “Taiwan has to pay for its defense.”
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to the former American president is that he has made it clear that he plans to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
This is the last thing many businesses in China want right now as the country tries to produce enough goods to export due to the economic downturn.
Ministers in China are frustrated by the defiance of US-led trade tariffs first imposed by Donald Trump.
President Biden has also imposed tariffs, targeting Chinese electric cars and solar panels. Beijing believes these measures are an attempt to curb its rise as a global economic power.
Getty Images“I don’t think it will do anything for the US to impose tariffs on China,” said Mr. Xiang, echoing the sentiments of many we met. The costs will hit the US people, he adds, and raise costs for ordinary people.
Most of the younger generation, while they love the American country, look to the US for styles and culture – and that, perhaps more than any diplomatic activity, it also has power.
In the park, Lily and Anna, aged 20 and 22, who get their news from TikTok, echo some of the national pride messages broadcast by China’s state media when it comes to this competitive relationship.
“Our country is a very prosperous and powerful country,” they said, wearing their national costumes. They love China, they say, even though they also love the Avengers, especially Captain America.
Taylor Swift is on their playlist as well.
Others like 17-year-old Lucy hope to study in America one day.
Riding an exercise bike, which has just been put in the park, he dreams of visiting Universal Studios one day – after graduation.
Lucy says she is happy to see a woman running for office. “Harris’ nomination marks an important step forward for gender equality, and it is encouraging to see him as president.”
The People’s Republic of China has never had a female leader and there is not a single woman currently on the 24-member Politburo that makes up the most senior members of the Chinese Communist Party.
Lucy is also worried about the intense competition between the two countries and believes that the best way for China and the United States to improve their relationship is to have more people to exchange.
Both sides have vowed to work on this, yet the number of American students studying in China has dropped from 15,000 in 2011 to 800.
Xi hopes to open the door for 50,000 American students to come to China in the next five years. But in a recent interview with the BBC, the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, accused parts of the Chinese government of not taking the pledge seriously.
He said that in many cases, security forces or government departments have prevented Chinese citizens from participating in US-run public discourse.
On the other hand, Chinese students and academics have reported being unfairly targeted by US border officials.
Lucy, however, still hopes to be able to go to America one day, to promote Chinese culture. And, as the music continues nearby, he urges Americans to visit and experience China.
“Maybe we’re a little reserved sometimes and not as outgoing or as bad as people in the US, but we welcome it,” he said as he left to join his family.
BBC photos by Xiqing Wang
Between now and the US election on 5 November, the BBC’s correspondents in other parts of the world will be exploring the impact their results will have where they are, and what people around the world are doing about the race for the White House.
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